Tuition at La. public colleges likely won't go up for next academic year

Attempts to raise tuition at Louisiana's public colleges appear dead for the session, despite concerns about repeated rounds of budget cuts to schools.Rep. Walt Leger, the number two ranking member of the House, said Wednesday that he's shelving his proposal to let the campuses raise tuition according to a plan devised by the Board of Regents. He said he doesn't have the two-thirds support of lawmakers required to pass the bill."The votes are not there, and I don't believe they will be there this session," said Leger, D-New Orleans, "As far as I'm concerned, it's done."A day earlier, a separate proposal by Shreveport Republican Rep. Thomas Carmody to remove the legislative approval requirement for college tuition hikes failed in the House, falling 19 votes short of passage.